Thousands of nurses went on strike early Monday morning as negotiations between their union and two city hospitals broke down. 

Here’s what you need to know about the strike, including who is participating and how it will affect patients.

Who is on strike? 

Approximately 7,100 nurses at The Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx went on strike at 6 a.m. on Monday after negotiations between the two institutions and the New York State Nurses Association, the state’s largest union for registered nurses, failed.

Of the 7,100 nurses, around 3,600 are from Mount Sinai Hospital, while 3,500 are from Montefiore Medical Center, according to NYSNA, which represents around 42,000 nurses statewide. 

Nurses at Montefiore’s Moses Hospital, Weiler Hospital, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Westchester Square and NYSNA-staffed ambulatory care locations are striking, Montefiore said on its website. 

Nurses at Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai Morningside, NewYork-Presbyterian, Maimonides Medical Center, Richmond University Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center are not participating in the strike, as union members reached agreements with those hospitals, NYSNA said.

Why are they striking? 

Nurses that are on strike have turned down an offer for better pay, saying they want better working conditions as well. 

Union members have been fighting for increased staffing, saying hospitals have refused to fill vacant nursing positions, creating unsafe patient-nursing ratios. 

At a press conference Monday afternoon, NYSNA president Nancy Hagans said Mount Sinai currently has more than 500 nursing vacancies.

Last week, Hagans said safe staffing standards are routinely violated, and that nurses face pushback from management when attempting to enforce their current contract.

“Nurses don’t want to strike. We would rather be inside taking care of [a] patient,” Hagans said Monday. “These executives could have settled a fair contract months ago.” 

What are the hospitals saying? 

In a bargaining update Mount Sinai posted online Sunday, the hospital said it was “in complete agreement [with the union] about the importance of attracting and retaining more nurses, which is why we’ve prioritized our ongoing commitment to hiring to ensure we continue to deliver exceptional patient care.”

“Over the last three years, we’ve hired more than 4,000 new nurses with 503 more nurses working today than in 2019 — far exceeding our 2019 hiring commitment to NYSNA,” the update said.

Mount Sinai also said its offer to nurses included “a compensation package offering more than $51,000 in additional cash compensation for each nurse over three years,” as well as “substantially increased financial contributions to ensure critical medical benefits continue, at no additional cost to nurses — an additional $19,500 over three years.”

Montefiore’s president and CEO, Dr. Philip Ozuah, meanwhile, sent a letter to staff on Monday — which a source provided to NY1 — expressing his “deep disappointment with the events that transpired today."

“Despite a very generous offer from Montefiore — an offer that exceeded the terms already agreed to at the wealthiest of our peer institutions — NYSNA’s leadership decided to walk away from the bedsides of our patients,” Ozuah wrote. “In my opinion, this action was totally unnecessary, especially given how close we already were to a final agreement.”

Ozuah “directed [Montefiore’s] negotiating team to continue to engage with NYSNA and work towards a fair agreement,” he wrote, but added that it “must be a fair agreement.”

What are the governor and mayor saying?

Hochul on Sunday called for “binding arbitration so that all parties can swiftly reach a resolution.”

The governor said the state’s Department of Health would continue to enforce staffing requirements under the law “to maintain the delivery of essential health care services to the community and protect patient health and safety.”

Additionally, Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday that he and his staff would continue to monitor the situation, but that the city is prepared to meet any challenges that may arise.

He said in preparation for a strike, the FDNY already had plans in place to reroute ambulances, while NYC Health + Hospitals has prepared for a potential surge in patients.

What are the hospitals' contingency plans?

Montefiore on Monday said all elective surgeries and appointments at their ambulatory locations would be rescheduled. Patients with scheduled procedures or appointments will be contacted by the hospital network with information regarding rescheduling.

Mount Sinai released its contingency plan last week, noting that it would begin diverting a majority of ambulances from their facilities, cancel some elective surgeries and transfer patients — including babies in the neonatal intensive care unit — to other hospital systems amid a potential strike.

What is NYSNA's message to patients? 

In a statement released early Monday, NYSNA said New Yorkers should not avoid seeking medical care. 

“To all of our patients, to all New Yorkers, we want to be absolutely clear: If you are sick, please do not delay getting medical care, regardless of whether we are on strike. Patients should seek hospital care immediately if they need it,” the statement said.

“We would rather be the ones providing that care, but our bosses have pushed us to be out here instead. We appreciate solidarity from our patients — but going into the hospital to get the care you need is NOT crossing our strike line,” it added. “In fact, we invite you to come join us on the strike line after you've gotten the care you need. We are out here so we can provide better patient care to you!”